Going to kelowna for business

[MDubbelboer]

Alright fellow mazda-ers. I posted this in m3f...but...well...ya...you guys have this forum and don't use the subforum there evidently.

Anywho, going to kelowna for business and was looking for some recommendations on things to do, places to check out, etc.
I had originally dreamt of golfing thinking it was nice year round...apparently not. the long term forecast for the 15th is like -25celsius. That makes edmonton look down right rosy.

So hows about it?

[niteron]

There's always skiing up at Big White, the casino, night clubs, or if you like wine, you can always do a wine tour. Check with the wineries though, and make sure they're open this time of year.

[MDubbelboer]

i'm staying at the grand okanagan. any idea what that's like?
from the pictures it looks pretty posh, and it seems to have a casino

[derrick]

When will you be there?

Who feels like a cruise?

[MDubbelboer]

15-31 unless stuff goes better than expected

i'm flying in so i'll be sporting a focus or something flashy like that...

[derrick]

That's hawt!

Not sure what there is to do up there this time of year. It's pretty blah everywhere right now.

[HeaTransfer]

You really are going at the wrong time of year...

You might want to take a bit of a drive along the highway to Armstrong/Vernon - there is a stretch north of Kelowna that goes uphill.  It's an okayish drive but the view down to the lake is quite nice, even in the winter (it's when I figured out that though the weather is kinda crappy in Winter, the Okanagan is still quite beautiful).  Don't make a special trip of it, though.

Kelowna is a reasonable size but I don't recall really checking out their downtown and restaurants there (I don't usually stay in Kelowna).  There definitely should be some good ones due to the size of Kelowna and the fact that it's becoming increasingly affluent.

If you plan to go to Kamloops (on a weekend perhaps?), let me know as I know that city a bit better.

[jlai]

Your going to be running into many Asian clubs on their annual ski trip.

[ZoomZoom]

If you're a skiier or boarder... head up to Big White for the weekends.  Visibility isn't always the best there, but it's a great mountain.

[MDubbelboer]

the problem is i'm flying out there and don't really want to bring my skiis. i'm thinking i might just bring snowshoes as they're a bit easier to travel with.

i'll probably take that drive heatransfer as i wouldn't mind the photo op.

thanks for the advice so far guys, keep 'em coming!

[BLAM]

Hi Mark.

Also, a free trip to kelowna for work? that's a real deal...you could always rent skis...I know I 'd rent a snowboard if it was me

[MDubbelboer]

ya it's sweet because they're flying erika in for a weekend too
i have an uncle/aunt in the region, maybe they'll have gear i can borrow

im' half dutch so i'm rather cheap maybe i should have mentioned that first

[BLAM]

vbut you're half jap so you should drop more than enough money on camera gear.

[MDubbelboer]

aren't asians notoriously cheap too. between the two it's no wonder i haven't even upgrade my kit lens

[BLAM]

I'm surprised I haven't either.  I don't know if I even will replace the kit lens anytime soon.might just get a telephoto lens and keep using the kit lens for a while.

my buddy has already dropped 3000$ on his 30D ($1300), accessory kit($300) and replacement lens($1300) and has taken maybe 1/10 of the pictures you have. I don't think he has even reached 100 shutter clicks and hee's had it for about a month now.

I wouldn't be surprised if it becomes another expensive toy for him that he will regret in a year or 2 as usual.

[MDubbelboer]

let me know when he wants to sell that eh

i misplaced my xmas photos somewhere....

[BLAM]

I hate when I do that.

I took a bunch of pics and loaded them on my computer under a diff user name than I usually use at home and a couple weeks later I couldnt find them.

He has a pretty good understanding of everything and is pretty good with photoshop, but lacks the experience.  he doesn't get out ever so he never gets a chance to shoot anything more unique then his turtles which he is scared to shoot because he doesn't want them splashing his gear. and without a bounce flash he is hooped for dimly lit indoors pics even though he has a fairly fast zoom lens. and I should probably tell him but I'll let him figure out on his own.  his onboard flash is useless with his new lens since its so big. especially with the lens hood.

He wants to shoot sports which will be impossible w/o a flash unless it's outdoors during the day, then he most likely doesn't have the range
he wants to shoot animals which is impossible in low light without a flash (zoo he can do, but I dont think he has the range)
he wants to shoot family events which is impossible w/o a flash. even if the on board is usable he will ugly hot spots shooting straight on.
he doesn't like landscape so his fancy high contrast lens isn't useful there
he has no more ineterest in cars
and doesn't play any sports other than boxing, and once again, no flash = no boxing pictures.

he wants a tortoise so he can shoot pics of it. but you can only take so many pics of one animal before you run out of new techniques and composition

[MDubbelboer]

at least he'll have time to properly focus on the tortoise. the bunny poses....issues

[BLAM]

nah, the bunny is fine, you just need a faster lens

The dogs were fairly uncooperative and never looked at the camera =(

[MDubbelboer]

ya that's also true with the bunny.
her running space is rather limited but it's still hard to get her to look at you when she's doing something funny